Extraordinary intervention

It seems to me that the point of saying God put Er and Onan to death is to stress that there was an unusual directness about it. God interrupted the more normal processes of life and dying (which he controls) and took them away by a more direct act.

Thus we learn that it is not meaningless to believe that all events are governed by God, and yet to pray that he intervene in extraordinary ways. Governing all does not mean governing all in the same way.

 - John Piper, via the Desiring God blog, emphasis mine

It seems fair to say that God typically responds to the prayers of his saints (broadly, generally speaking) in two ways:

1. Ordinary
2. Extraordinary

I would argue that God ordinarily acts by sustaining creation as it was made ex nihilo 24-7, giving us our daily bread and provision, and the like. We oftentimes see God respond to prayers (or in Er and Onan's case, wickedness) in extraordinary ways. Piper makes a great point in presenting the fact that God is sovereign over absolutely everything in the universe right alongside the fact that it is meaningful to pray/expect that God in extraordinary ways.

Let all the extraordinary acts of God recorded for us be motivation to ask God to move in such ways, for his glory.

The beat down of prayer

And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” Luke 18:2-5

Do we pray with real need? Do we pray with impudence? Do we pray to the extent that we are beating the ears of God with our continual comings?

An essential characteristic of biblical prayer is persistence. If a widow who was disrespected and looked down upon by an unrighteous judge can receive her request through her persistence, how much more will God give justice to his saints, the elect?

Let God find us drumming his ears with expectant, faithful hearts at his coming. And he will give us justice.

Urgent Prayer Request

From my friend Stephanie's blog:

I just wanted to ask you guys to pray, pray, pray for David Camp, a young man who was in a bad car accident last Wednesday. Please pray that God will heal him, restore him, strengthen him, and be with him as he is fighting for his life. Thank you and I know David’s family thanks you too. Please go to this Facebook Group for more information.

Please pray for this young man who was in a very bad car accident and is suffering extreme physical trauma. Ask God that he would be glorified and make his face shine bright upon all who are suffering from this terrible accident.

Pray.

Do you ever wonder what to pray for? I do.

"The harvest is plentiful, but the laborer are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." - Matthew 9:37-38

Let's start here. So much more to be said about this verse, but let's pray. Earnestly.

evening devotion

This post will be 99% verbatim from my written journal that I do not write in enough. Commence.
12/14/2009 - Devotion
Devote your time to God's exaltation through your exultation. (Side note: if you don't know what either of those two words mean...click here and here.)
I prayed before my dinner tonight and the Spirit reminded me how I need to pray more than just at meals. May my prayer life not be anemic! If prayer is "communion" and communion is God's presentation of Himself to us, then we as Christians should innately feel and express joy, because of God coming to us in love. He does not come in wrath to the righteous, but as glorious and affection-gathering. God communes with us in prayer so he may be made glorious in our eyes and with this we have joy. Psalm 43:3-4 pictures man's response to God's sending out of "truth and light" as one of "exceeding joy". Don't skip over the Gospel!
Galatians 3:13 - Christ bore the curse of the Law for us.
Galatians 3:10 - If man relies on his works for righteousness, works that are under the Law, in trusting in such obedience to the Law, he will be cursed because he cannot fulfill the Law. Man is cursed by not abiding by the Law.
Galatians 3:11 - Righteous people live by faith. Faith is the qualifier for righteousness. No man is justified before God's judgment seat by the Law. Every single human is guilty according to the Law.
Interrupted with at thought: Is this verse by verse exploration of the bible normal Bible study? Or is it an outlet of my passion for the Word, pointing to a specific way I must use it? I want to spread this! I want to spread the truth in these pages!
Galatians 3:12 - The law is not of faith. See Romans 10:5 .
Galatians 3:13 - Man is under the curse of the Law due to his disobedience to the Law. Christ saved us because he became cursed with the curse of the Law we were to bear. Who is the "us" in this verse? It does not say "all".
Deuteronomy 10:13 - Do I believe that keeping God's will is "for [my] good"?
Exodus 34:6-7 - God promises future forgiveness for transgressions.
Deuteronomy 9:23 - Rebellion is caused by the failure to believe God.